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“There are certain people, whom certain herbs, the good digestion of disturbs. Henry the VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon because of her reckless use of tarragon.” – attributed to Ogden Nash

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Beef and Stout (Guinness) "Casserole"

This is from a casserole cookbook called Bake Until Bubbly by Clifford A. Wright, but it's really more of an Irish stew that's baked in the oven. I like to double the recipe because it's time-consuming (3 1/2 hours start to finish), and freeze half or give half away, as I did recently to a couple with a newborn.

It's worth every minute and all the knife work.
Be sure to have some crusty bread for sopping up the savory sauce.

In large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat, then brown the beef and bacon on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the meats with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. Discard any accumulated fat and juices in the skillet.

Melt butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the stout, stirring until gravy is smooth.

Place beef, bacon and onions in a 12-by-9-by-2 baking casserole or 10-inch round baking casserole (for a doubled recipe, I used a large dutch oven). Sprinkle with the parsley and marjoram, season with salt and pepper, and add garlic and bouquet garni/herbs. Mix well. Sprinkle the top with the sugar and pour the gravy over the beef. Stir again to mix well. Cover and bake until the meat if very tender, about 3 hours. Removed from the oven and stir in the vinegar. Let rest for 5 minutes and serve.

Note: For some reason I was worried about how much sauce there would be this time, and stirred in a jar of "beef gravy" before putting the pot into the oven. I wondered if this lame addition (why did I even have that in my pantry?) would affect the flavor, but it seemed no harm was done.